WWHI? Book 4 Reunion
by Pendragon.P a s s i o n
Summary: ON HOLD! SO SORRY! "Will, are you hurt anywhere else?" It took Will sometime to register Horace's words because he was losing blood quickly. Oakleaf Bearers reunion redone all tragically. plz do RRR. relax.read.review.
1. Chapter 1

**So this is my 2nd RA ff thats on here.....I've decided my 1st ff nd this one nd probably all the others I write are gonna be part of my What Would've Happened If..?? Series...Basically....I write alternate parts of the books because I'm too uncreative to even think of my own scene using someone else's characters and setting....**

**..this is only lik..an intro or something...so nywazZ..enjoy..**

**Disclaimer:** Alas! My heart is once again wrenched in to pieces as I so unhappily admit that I do not now, nor will I ever own the enchanting story of Ranger's Apprentice or the variety of persona that will only ever exist within the wonderful pages of the book..

Chapter One

The three Temujai warriors were heading towards Will as he dropped the useless bow and reached for the small knife at his belt. He figured he would have a better chance and more momentum if he ran towards them. As soon as Will was close enough he tackled the first Temujai. The force of his body slammed the Temuj down onto the ground and for a few seconds they struggled with each other but soon Will, weak from his warmweed addiction and weeks of starvation, lost the momentum he had and the other man overpowered him. They rolled over so the Temuj was on top of Will and he punched him twice in the face, Will was slightly dazed and the Temuj seized his chance. He ripped the knife from Will's grip, raised it and brought it down twice in quick succession, stabbing Will's right side. Will cried out in pain and vaguely heard Evanlyn scream his name. In all the commotion he wondered why the other two Temujai didn't help their leader, slowly he tried to turn his head to look at them but the one still on top of him punched him again, this time right where he was stabbed. Will screamed and looked at the Temuj. His eyes were wicked and for a moment they just looked at each other, then he punched Will all over, left right, left right. The Temujai wasn't going to make Will's death painless, he was going to make it as painful as possible. Then he stopped punching and his eyes went blank, slowly he toppled forward and completely covered Will. As he fell, Will noticed the point of a sword just sticking out of his chest. Will was about to push him off when someone picked up the dead Temujai and placed him to the side.

"Will!" a tall, dark haired young man dropped to his knees beside him.

"Horace?" Will gasped and half sat up but couldn't get any further because his wounds were too painful. Horace started running his hands over Will's body looking for any less obvious wounds. "How..? What..? Why..? Where..? Huh..?" Will stammered, totally confused and still a bit dazed from his fight.

"Will, are you hurt anywhere else?" It took Will sometime to register Horace's words because he was losing blood quickly. Will shook his head slowly. Horace quickly ripped off some of the dead Temujai's clothing and Will gasped as Horace applied pressure to his wounds. "Sorry," he said quietly, and looked over to where Evanlyn was, still standing near the tree but not tied to it, Halt had come out of the trees to see to that. "I'm going to need some bandages over here Halt." Horace called. As soon as the last word came out of his mouth Will looked at him.

"Halt's here?" he gasped.

"Yes. Why, you didn't think..." before Horace could finish his sentence Will jumped up from the ground, despite the pain it caused him, ran full pelt to Halt and collapsed in his arms.

"Halt." Will managed to whisper one word before he fell into unconsciousness.

"Evanlyn," Halt said urgently. "Start a fire, and Horace get me bandages. There are some in Abelard's pack," Halt picked Will's light body up, too light for Halt's liking, and placed him in one of the nearest Temujai tents.

**nd that wazZ it..I'll update soonish..**


	2. Chapter 2

**kk...its been quite a while...I no I no...but wen I finally got rly stuck with what to do nxt nd then when I finally got round to writing this chapter I lost it all cozZ I didnt save it nd then the laptop had a dead battery..............so that wazZ yesterday....so I wazZ writing last night, its a whole lot easier to write things a second time...nywazZ...sorry it took so long...R&R...specially the second R..REVIEW!!!**

**ALSO!! This chapter is dedicated to Hades Krazy Daughter because if it wasn't for her nonstop asking about when Im updating this chapter probably would not be written for another month or more....**

**ENJOY!!..**

**Chapter 2**

Halt pulled off Will's shirt, wet it and washed out Will's wounds. After he wrapped the bandages around his apprentice's small form, trying desperately to stop the blood flowing, Will was already extremely pale from the loss of it.

After Halt finished he moved Will back out, near the fire that Evanlyn now had roaring. Will was trembling uncontrollably.

"What's wrong with him?" Horace asked worriedly when he noticed how much Will was shaking.

Halt wrapped his arms around Will, trying to give the boy as much heat as possible. "He's going into shock from the loss of blood."

"Here," the young warrior said, taking off his cloak. "This should help."

Halt took the cloak and wrapped it around his apprentice. Halt was almost sweating from the fire's heat but Will was still trembling. After about half an hour Will began to settle down and Halt unwrapped his arms. Standing up he gave Horace back his cloak.

"I'll get another one," he said. "There's no use in you being cold if Will could have a different one."

Halt turned around and went searching through Tug's packs. Up until now Tug had been used as a pack horse and seeing as Will was next to the fire, so was his faithful pony. Halt suspected Tug wouldn't let Will out of his sight for quite a while. He found the spare Ranger cloak he brought for Will and laid it over him. Then he started getting things out to eat. Horace put some water to boil and Evanlyn began readying the ingredients for a stew. Once everything was prepared she added them to the water.

They all sat in a slightly awkward silence for a while. As soon as the stew was ready Halt served up three bowls of it and handed two to the battleschool trainee and the Princess.

As the former Ranger watched the two younger companions eat he noticed how much Evanlyn ate. Finishing off her bowl quickly and then moving to fill it up again. Horace, as always, had seconds. He was a growing boy, Halt thought, but boy as he was, he could sure eat.

Halt made himself swallow a few mouthfuls but that was it. He set his bowl to the side and watched Will who, apart from a few random shivers, hadn't moved. Halt was startled out of his troubled thoughts as Evanlyn gave a very chesty cough, he could hear the phlegm moving as she breathed in and coughed again. He realised that Will was not the only sick person at their small camp.

Halt stood up again and found Abelard's pack, which was now on the ground. While Halt and Evanlyn had been preparing the food, after Horace got the water ready he tended to the horses. Unsaddling and feeding them, ready for the night. Halt found what he was looking for, a small pouch with dried herbs. He poured a steaming cup of water, added some herbs and handed it to the girl.

She looked at it curiously.

"It'll help with your cough," he said.

She took a sip. It was disgusting, sour and acidic, but she forced it down. Already she felt her chest become just slightly less painful. "Thankyou Halt," she said.

He gave her one nod, acknowledging her thanks. Then he thought he should know what had happened in the past almost-year.

"Prin-" he stopped and corrected himself. "Evanlyn. I think you should tell us what happened."

She looked up at Halt, then turned to Horace who nodded encouragingly. She didn't really want to tell the story without Will but...

Her brow creased in thought and she told Halt and Horace what happened. The story of her and Will's trip to Skandia, the happenings on Skorghijl with Slagor and their attempt at escape. The way they had been separated once they reached Skandia and her desperation when she found Will had been given warmweed. Then she spoke of the slight hope she had when Erak offered to help them escape. She told of the escape and the travel through the woods. A light flickered on in her eyes when she spoke of the day Will finally conquered his addiction. It then dimmed when she was kidnapped and she finished simply with, "And then you found us."

Halt was silent. His blood boiled with rage when Evanlyn spoke of the warmweed. He wanted to kill everyone involved in causing Will pain. Then his thoughts wandered to what she had said about Skorghijl and Halt became filled with pride. Evanlyn had said that Will kept optimistic, thinking of ideas to escape and even though he was a prisoner he was determined not to get out of shape. Halt smiled slightly. Something as simple as keeping in shape would have been, Halt was sure of it, Will's way of staying sane. For about a year Will had lived the free life of a Ranger, then suddenly that was ripped from him. It would have been hard to deal with that and sticking to the hard exercise routines Halt had drilled into him gave him a sense of familiarity.

Halt made himself address the incognito princess. "Thankyou for telling me," he said. Then, "I think you should hear our story now."

For the next half hour Evanlyn listened as Halt and Horace told her of their travels. Evanlyn listened in awe when Halt explained how Horace had defeated Lord Morgarath and also his triumphs over the knights in Gallica. Then Horace told how Halt killed Deparnieux.

After the story had been told Horace and Evanlyn went to sleep and Halt took the first watch. Before Horace went to sleep they had agreed that they wouldn't wake Evanlyn for a watch. She would be exhausted and deserved a decent night's rest.

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**FINALLY!! kk....review review review review!!!!!!! PLEASE REVIEW!! **


	3. Chapter 3

**alrightty...its been for ages nd for that Im sorry but..u no..been busy..um..hoping I can update at least one of my other stories soon..**

**for my HELP! I NEED A NAME FO RTHIS! story..wel...I need a name for it..if u havent read it go now..also...if u got ny ideas on wt to do nxt in it leave me a review or PM it to me..**

**nywazZ...thnxX to all my reviewers!!! LOV U ALL!!**

**nywazZ....**

**ENJOY!!..**

**Chapter 3**

Halt had woken Horace at midnight to swap the watch. For the first couple of hours he was sure Halt wasn't actually asleep but after a while his breathing evened out and he must have been asleep. It was about halfway through Horace's watch and he thought he heard something. Alert and watchful he turned to where the noise had come from, behind him. Then he relaxed. It was only Will. He walked over to his friend, who was waking up, and crouched next to him.

"Hey Will," he said.

Slowly Will opened his eyes and blinked, trying to focus. "Horace?" he said.

"Yes."

"What? Where did you...?" he trailed off.

"It's ok, calm down."

"What happened?" he asked. Then his eyes widened. "Where are you going?" his voice was panicky as Horace stood up.

"I'm just getting you some water," he said calmly. "And as to what happened, we found you and Evanlyn. Remember? You were fighting a Temujai and he stabbed you and I stabbed him and then you ran to Halt and passed out." Horace handed him the water. "I'll be back," he said and he went to wake Halt.

He walked behind Will and crouched next to Halt. He was about to shake him awake but then thought twice. It was probably not the best career move to wake a Ranger in the middle of the night, especially when they were not in exactly friendly country. "Halt," he called softly. _Gently_ he laid a hand on the older man's shoulder and when he got no reaction he slowly shook him awake.

Halt sat up and looked at him. "What?" he asked gruffly. Halt didn't really enjoy being woken up at this hour and Horace's next words changed his angry face into a gentler one.

"Will's awake. I thought I'd tell you." The young warrior said.

Halt stood, turned and walked to Will.

"Halt." Will's voice broke and as the old Ranger sat down next to him. The young Ranger flung his arms around him. Then he started sobbing uncontrollably. "I didn't think...I knew you would......I missed you so much..."

"Ssshhh Will. It's all ok now." Halt cooed softly. Halt held his apprentice in his arms tightly until his sobs subsided.

Horace decided to give the two some space.

Will regained himself and sat up properly, releasing Halt. "I knew you'd look for me," he said looking at his master. "But there were times when I didn't think you would ever actually find me."

Halt nodded. "Evanlyn told me what everything that happened." He saw shame crawl into Will's eyes.

"Halt, I-"

"It's nothing to be ashamed of Will. You couldn't help what happened, it wasn't your fault."

"But..." Will was so sure that Halt would be disappointed about his addiction to warmweed.

"Evanlyn told me what you did on Skorghijl," Halt cut him off again. "With Slagor and also how you tried to escape. Your addiction to warmweed...it would have happened to anyone. But not everyone can overcome it. You did, and that's something."

The young man looked at his mentor.

"Everything that you've ever done, here in Skandia and back home...I don't say it enough but I'm proud of you Will. And there's nothing you will ever do that will change that."

Will's eyes filled with tears once again and he tried to blink them away. "Halt, I..."

Will was absolutely lost for words but then Halt decided that was enough of a sentimental moment for the time being. "Now," he said abruptly. "I assume you're terribly out of shape so as soon as possible it'll be back to training but now we have to get moving."

Will looked around, it was just dawn. Halt moved to wake Evanlyn, and Horace, who had been with the horses, came back over.

"We moving out?" he asked Halt.

The old Ranger nodded. "We need to get away from here in case any other Temujai come. And the sooner we get out of here, we can get home."

"Good," he nodded, then moved back to the horses to ready Kicker.

Will gently pushed himself off the ground, wincing as he straightened. He waited a few moments, steadying himself, before moving.

Slowly he walked over to Tug. "Hey boy," he said softly and tears stung his eyes once again. "I missed you."

The Ranger horse shook his head up and down vigorously, in agreement.

Will looked into his eyes, _What took you so long?_ They seemed to say.

Laughing softly Will replied, "I'm sorry that my life doesn't quite fit your timetable." Then he moved to saddle his pony. He winced slightly when he picked up the saddle and stumbled when he tried to lift it. Luckily Horace, who was nearby saddling Kicker, saw the movement and caught his friend as he fell.

"You ok?" the warrior apprentice asked.

"Yeah," Horace helped Will up and he stood on shaky legs. "I guess I'm not as strong as I was."

"Just take it easy."

"Sure," Will flashed Horace a grin.

Haven't seen that in a while, Horace thought.

"When you two are finished..." Halt called over.

The two friends looked around and realised that their camp was packed and ready to go, Halt and Evanlyn were sitting atop their horses and were waiting.

"I missed that sarcasm," Will told Horace as his friend saddled Tug for him.

Horace looked at him in disbelief, "How could you ever?"

They heard an impatient cough from behind them.

"We'd better go," Horace said and Will nodded in agreement.

Will groan as he pulled himself onto Tug, then led him to Halt, Horace followed.

"Let's go," Will said.

As they rode off Will thought he heard Halt mutter something under his breath about 'those damn apprentices always being too slow'.

Will smiled to himself, he was glad to be back.

* * *

**nd that wazZ it...**

**hop u likd it...**

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**PLzZ REVIEW!!**

**also..evry1 go check out The Chronicles of Gerald....hes a garden gnome...me nd cece-noon wrote it...its ridiculous...we think its hilarious..but som1 told us it suxX...nywazZ...**

**also cece-noon's fic now has a name, Heaven Help The Dead...its awsumm if u havent already read it go NOW!!**

**erm...the next chapter might get a bit angsty...not sure though cozZ I havent written it yet but...yh**

**.com**


	4. Chapter 4

**and once again, NO EXCUSE for the lateness and I am sorry. now this chappie started out as something that was gonna be a bit angst-galore for Will, then changed a little while into it, then about halfwya through completely changed, then changed direction AGAIN! so hopefully it all fits together fairly well. mind you it is 1:47am as I write this AN and I have proof read but bearing in mind the time there are probs loads of mistakes. err..please review. and as always..**

**ENJOY!..**

**Chapter Four**

They had been riding for just over two hours and Halt was observing Will closely. It was obvious Tug was attempting to make the journey as painless for his master as possible whilst keeping up the pace but every so often Will would flinch and his lips would open in a silent gasp. It was also obvious that he was exhausted.

And rightly so, Halt thought. After all the boy had been through, being mistreated as a slave, his addiction to warmweed, _then_ getting stabbed, add into the mixture that he was still recovering from the warmweed therefore needed a lot of rest and that he was hardly getting any he had a right to look exhausted sitting in the saddle.

"I think we'll stop here for an hour or so." He stated.

Horace looked at him curiously, about to ask why they were stopping so early but Halt gave him a pointed look and nodded to Will. The exhausted Will.

Horace helped Evanlyn down, whether she needed the help or not, he did not care, that wasn't the point. "A fire, Halt?"

"I think so." There didn't seem to be anyone around, though usually that made Halt think twice about it he knew Will and Evanlyn would be grateful for the warmth. Especially Will.

Speaking of Will...

Halt looked over to where Will was dismounting. He noticed the familiar look on his face, that expression that popped up when faced with a problem. Halt started to move over and help him dismount when Will decided he'd take his chances and got down himself.

Halt supported him just in time as his knees buckled.

He laughed sourly. A laugh that Will was not supposed to laugh. Will was an optimist, always. He didn't laugh sourly at things. "I guess I'm not as strong as I'm use to being," he mused to Halt.

And that tone. Sour and negative and...wrong.

He'd have to sort it out. Later. For now he ordered Will over to the newly lit fire and ordered him to stay there while he sorted out Tug and Abelard.

By the time everything was done to set up camp Will was out cold, lying in an awkward position by the radiating warmth of the fire. Halt raised an eyebrow in amusement. His dear apprentice was going to have one sore neck by the time he woke up.

He let Will sleep through the preparations of dinner. And the cooking of dinner. Only when he was just about to eat did he gently lay a hand on Will's shoulder and shake him gently. Will woke with a frown and as he sat up, his hand went straight to rubbing the back of his neck. Halt chuckled quietly.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing."

Will knew Halt was laughing about something to do with him, he also knew that if Halt didn't want to, he wouldn't say a thing.

The friends ate in light conversation. Bad jokes were thrown around by Horace, though Evanlyn laughed at every one. Everyone seemed content. Horace had found his best friend, alive and relatively well, considering. Halt had found his son-like, talkative apprentice. Evanlyn had been found, which was good enough for her. But she'd also been found by a tall, dashing warrior apprentice, who was also a good friend. And Will had his master and friend back. His confidence. His stability. His rock.

Will had almost everything back. But a few times during the meal he went silent and stared off into the distance a little bit. Horace and Evanlyn, too wrapped up in each other's company, didn't notice but Halt never missed a thing. And this was no exception.

After the meal Evanlyn offered to take first watch but Halt declined. She was still exhausted, and as if to prove his point after being told she wasn't needed she instantly hit the sack. Horace took first watch, which left Halt and Will alone by the fire.

Halt reached behind them to get his medical pack.

"Take your shirt off, Will. Let's have a look at that wound."

Will complied without complaint.

Halt unwound the bandages and peered at his wound. "It doesn't look too bad. Well have to make sure to clean it every day so it doesn't become infected." As he said this he reached over to the cooling pot of water near the coals of the fire.

Halt knew he'd need sterile water to properly clean Will's wound and while he was preparing dinner he boiled a pot of water, then let it cool slightly so it wasn't too hot for his apprentice to handle.

Will was leaning back on one hand, facing the fire to give Halt enough light to see in the dimming day.

"This might sting a little." He slowly poured the water on Will's chest, where the wound was.

He gasped slightly, it did sting a little, and the water, though not boiling was still quite hot. He gripped Halt's upper arm tightly with his spare hand and clenched his teeth when Halt used the dirty bandage to thoroughly clean his wound.

Finally Halt finished cleaning the wound.

"Sorry," he muttered. "But it's either a little pain now or a hell of a lot later when it gets infected."

"Don't worry about it. It's not like I've had enough pain lately, what's a little more?"

Halt looked up from where he was applying a herbal paste to numb the area a little and to help fight infection. He was about to say something when he simply shook his head and continued at his task. He gently rewrapped some fresh bandages then as Will had trouble lifting his arms higher than his shoulder, helped him get his shirt back on.

"Thanks, Halt." Will's voice was quiet.

Halt merely grunted in reply.

"I'm sorry, Halt. Really."

The older Ranger looked at him, "I know."

Will shook is head. "I don't even know why...It's just, all so hard."

"I know, Will."

"Yeah?"

Halt nodded. "Yeah. You spend so long trying to be strong for someone else, so they can get through it all alright. You spend that time being a leader, going through things that no one should ever have to. And you don't slow down to look at your doubts, or fears, because if you do you realise it's all fake and you get so scared because you think the other person will see right through you and give up themselves. So you stay acting strong and when help finally arrives you have time to stop and think and look inside yourself and you find you hate it.

"Not because of the things you've done, they aren't too bad. But because of the facade you've been putting up to keep that other person safe. And you realise that it was always a lie and if they found out now, the truth, then it would be alright, because they have someone else to turn to, to keep them safe. But after everything you find you can't let down that act because you're afraid of what people might see underneath it, and you're afraid of what you'll see yourself."

Will swallowed.

"H-how..."

"Because I was the same, Will, exactly the same in every way. And I realised too late that keeping up the facade after it was needed was a bad idea and I lost someone very close to me. I distanced myself from them and I lost them." He reached over and put a hand on Will's shoulder. "And I don't want to see the same thing happen to you. You have two great friends, and you do not want to lose them."

Will sprawled forward and wrapped his arms around Halt's waist. Then gasped in pain as the sudden movement stretched at his wound. He chuckled a little laugh. A short, tearful but cheery laugh, and Halt knew, for now, his work was done.

"Thanks, Halt."

"Any time."

For a while afterwards they just sat in each other's company, watching the fire burn, until Halt sensed Will had a question. Ah, one of those questions, once they started he knew Skandians would burn their own ships before the questions stopped.

How he missed those questions.

"Halt?"

He raised his eyes to the trees. "And so the begin," he muttered. Then, "Yes Will?"

"Before, when you were talking...who was it that you lost?"

There was silence then, "It doesn't matter anymore. She's gone."

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**aaannnnddd thats it. :P**

**please please please please PLEASE REVIEW! :D :D thats all th detail Ima go into with Halt and his little bit of angsty story there unless you guys want more than review dammit and tell me ;D I do have the whole story of what Halt's talking about planned out in my head and I know exactly who hes chatting about if you want it but yeah.. ermm..I think thats it.....**

**so please review and **

**luv u all..**

**passion.**


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